As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2006, "Teenage Life" performed by Daz Sampson finished in nineteenth place out of twenty-four competing entries.
[2] The BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose its entry for Eurovision.
[5] Entries were provided to the BBC by record labels and music industry experts including writers and producers.
[2][6] Among the acts rumoured by British media to have been consulted by the BBC with for entry submissions and involvement in the national final included Ace of Base,[7] Daz Sampson (who represented the United Kingdom in 2006) with Carol Decker,[8] Morrissey,[9] Queentastic,[10] Scissor Sisters, and The Puppini Sisters.
Justin Hawkins, who immediately left the studio after failing to qualify for the second voting round, accused viewers for being "racist or stupid" for not voting for him and Big Brovaz due to the race of the group members and his duet partner Beverlei Brown.
Accusations were also made by Big Brovaz, Brian Harvey and Hawkins that Scooch had duped the public into voting for them by miming their song and failing to show their two backing vocalists on stage with the purpose of boosting their performance.
The group later denied the miming claims with their spokesman Andrew Hill accusing the acts of "sour grapes", while a BBC spokeswoman stated that "Scooch won fair and square in a vote by the British public".
[17] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final.
The British performance featured the members of Scooch, joined by two backing vocalists, performing on a predominantly red, white and blue coloured stage which featured cabin-style props including refreshment trolleys, metal detectors, suitcases and airplane seats, with the LED screens displaying flying white planes and dots.